Bash
Bash is a Warrior skill. When successfully completed on an opponent, the target is "bashed" into a sitting Position and is vulnerable for up to 2 rounds. The target is rendered unable to do anything with substantial reductions to their DB (reduced by 75%) and PB (reduced by 25%). Additionally, bashed targets receive extra damageHow much? due to their sitting position. This is very powerful when it allows multiple opponents to repeatedly hit a bashed target who cannot flee and is even more powerful when that target is not wearing armor and would normally evade hits. Syntax: bash Pulses: 13 Mechanism Bash can be initiated while engaged, while not engaged, and even entered without an argument while engaged with the goal of beating an opponent to the bash. Bash can be targeted against any opponent who is engaged upon you. It can be initiated against any target in a room who has not reached "max-engage" and can be completed against targets who left the room and reentered the room if they are in the room when the timer ends. Bash can be completed against targets that were not max engaged when the timer was begun, but were max engage when the timer completed. The basher will receive a message indicating the target has reached max engage, but the bash will still be delivered (or missed). A targeted bash initiated against an opponent in a group protected by face-off may instead be delivered against another opponent. When a bash is initiated, a timer is run of a certain pulse length. At the end of the timer the bash is either avoided or the target is bashed. If the bash is avoided the "basher" is subjected to a 1 round penalty in which they fall down. After most missed bashes the "basher" who missed remains engaged upon their opponent, but occasionally a missed bash disengages the opponents opening them to the possibility of a stab or charge during the perceived lag of the missed combat round. Additionally, since the "basher" falls down they may register as sitting when the stab or charge is delivered. A "basher" who is bashed immediately after missing a bash will stand up after 1 round and will not be subject to 2 rounds of bashed hits from their opponent. If the bash lands it will deal a very small amount of damage to the bashed target. Unfortunately, this small amount of damage is sometimes sufficient to trigger "autowimpy" and cause the opponent to stand and potentially flee from the room. If the bash does not trigger autowimpy then the basher will have 2 rounds of combat to deal damage assuming that autowimpy is not triggered in any of these rounds. If a target is bashed in a room with multiple allies present they may have the opportunity to deliver 3 potential rounds of combat. Occasionally the timing of a bash causes it to be delivered too late resulting in the first round of combat and the bash occurring simultaneously and the first round not receiving the benefit of the bash (the target is not sitting). Strategy Bash is the principal active combat skill for melee characters in the game. The protagonist delivering a bash sacrifices 1 round of combat if they are already engaged and receives potentially 2 rounds of combat with a damage bonus against the target. If the bash is missed the basher loses an additional round of combat. Hitting and then Bashing The majority of melee combat begins by attacking your opponent and then doing something to them (for example, bashing or channeling a weave such as ice spikes). Bashers frequently walk into a room, attack their opponent and immediately begin a bash. Attacking the opponent gives you a first hit and engages the opponent requiring them to flee from combat rather than potentially walking out of the room. As the initiator of the combat you potentially have the opening hand, the first hit, and the opportunity to beat your opponent to the first bash. Your opponent may not have been aware of your presence or prepared to fight. If they are a channeler they may not have embraced the source yet and therefore may not be prepared to weave. On the other hand, your opponent may immediately flee from the room knowing that you have the upper hand in getting the first bash. If your opponent is a channeler, immediately running a bash may give you the ability to counter the weave (for example, ice spikes or fireball) that they have initiated because the pulse timer for bash and those weaves is equivalent and you started the bash timer before they initiated the weave timer. Disengaged Bashing A disengaged bash is a targeted bash (ie. bash human) that is initiated on an opponent without engaging first. This can be useful to change the pace of a fight between 2 opponents. For example, sometimes a protagonist will wait in a room for their other opponent to enter while spamming "kill opponent". This will allow them a first hit. If the opponent entering the room and types "kill protagonist, bash" they are already a command behind because their "kill" command was wasted - the protagonist waiting in the room was strongly favored to engage first and strike the opening blow. Entering the room with a disengaged bash sacrifices the opportunity to engage first, but potentially allows the opponent to beat the protagonist to the bash. Disengaged bash is also extremely potent when the entering individual has sneak. They can potentially enter and deliver a bash to an opponent who was not aware that they were present. Spamming Bash Spamming (repeatedly entering) bash without an argument is a potential strategy used while resting. Resting allows individuals increased regeneration. While resting you cannot engage an opponent ie. kill opponent. However, if you spam bash and an opponent hits you, you will stand up, sacrificing the first hit, but potentially allowing you to beat them to the bash. One potential complication to this strategy is that you must not cancel your own bash while spamming. If the opponent enters and attacks you, and you were furiously spamming bash, it is possible that your initiated bash timer will be cancelled by your own spam. A Continuous Melee Getting out of Doors Bash can sometimes be used to escape situations where a protagonist has been trapped in a room with a door. When two individuals are engaged upon each other in a 1-exit room where the only exit is blocked by a door the door must remain open during the time period in which the protagonist attempts to flee from the room or they will remain trapped inside. However, their opponent may wish to keep them in the room and therefore may close the door as fast the protagonist can open the door. The protagonist is dependent on opening the door and successfully fleeing - the opponent simply needs to keep the door closed. If the protagonist can successfully land a bash, they will potentially be able to open the door without obstruction and attempt to flee. The success of this strategy is dependent upon the ability to land a bash, the ability to change your mood to wimpy, and the ability to successfully flee which is dependent upon the amount of fleelag that the protagonist has built up. This situation can be complicated further when the protagonist finds themself engaged upon two opponents. If both opponents are closing the door the protagonist will have to successfully bash opponents, open the door, and flee and take into account the fact that the opponent who is bashed first will recover from the bash and begin closing the door again unless the timing and flee are perfectly executed without failure. An even more complicated situation is to be trapped in a door with 2 opponents and only to be engaged on 1 of them. The non-engaged opponent can then close the door without any ability to interrupt their door closing. An example of this is to be engaged upon an opponent's patrol (NPC opponents) and have the opponent not engage and just close the door. Absorption Verse Absorption Armor wielding characters in general do not have defense and therefore will take hits every round of combat. Therefore combat between absorption characters focuses on maximizing the number of hits and damage that can be delivered to the other character. Fighting Defensive Characters Characters with defense often cannot be hit unless they are either bashed or have multiple opponents attacking them to reduce their defense. Bash allows defensive characters to '''' In Game Description Syntax: bash Warrior skill: Bash will attempt to knock your opponent off their feet, rendering them open to attack while they are lying upon the ground. Note that bashing someone results in the inability to do anything else for the duration of the attack. Example: > bash trolloc Category:Warrior skills Category:Commands